If you want to make money online then you probably know just how important it is to be able to increase web traffic to your online properties. Whether you're directing traffic to a website, sales page, social media page, or an ebook in an online store, it pays to understand the most effective and efficient ways to drive traffic. Since time is a factor for most entrepreneurs, especially ones just getting started, this guide will show you the absolute best ways you can increase your traffic in just 3 months.
Pinterest
Pinterest is an up and coming social media site where you build your own image galleries. This can be a great opportunity to create a traffic funnel to various web properties that you own. Just keep in mind that Pinterest is frequented by mostly women and what that means for how you decide to do your demographic targeting. In other words, make sure your images are rich, high-res, and something that will appeal to a largely female audience within your...

When working on link building for your website, don’t just look at it from a technical perspective. While the technical details of link building matter a LOT, another refreshing way too look at it is by seeing it through the eyes of a social butterfly.
A social butterfly is by definition, a “people person”. Social butterflies are the types of individuals that are always connecting with others and aren’t afraid to put themselves out there. And while it’s tempting to associate them with social media alone, the fact is, being a social media butterfly can also have tremendous advantages to your SEO strategies.
Consider the following traits and see how they can be relevant to your link building efforts:
They focus on others (Feature other businesses on your site) – One of the reasons why the world loves social butterflies is the fact that they are not self-absorbed. They fly off from one person to the next with interest, and...

Optimistic SEOs all believe that Google's message is consistent: meritorious links win the day. Content is king. Play by the rules, and you will be rewarded. Blackhat SEOs believe the opposite - that Google is pragmatic in allowing some paid links to influence search results while punishing other companies who use them. Officially, Google tells us that paid links are a one-way road to nowheresville in the search engine. However, there is evidence that Google allows spam to make it through - despite its much-touted Panda and Penguin solutions.
Proof That Google Allows SERP Manipulation
Our site specializes in sending traffic to other sites - a service that, arguably, a lot of webmasters need. Last month, we noticed a significant drop in traffic:
While this could happen for any number of reasons, we decided to look into the problem a bit further. What we discovered shocked us. Another site had taken our spot in the SERPs for one of our keywords using less...

Google PageRank is an algorithm developed and used by Google to determine the popularity of a website based upon the incoming links, as compared to other similar pages. It is assigned in the number from 0 to 10 with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest PR. It shows how reputable a webpage is as per Google’s quality guidelines. The quality, quantity of incoming links for the website, number of outgoing links per page, the visibility of links and their position on the linking page are a few factors which determine the site’s PR according to Google PageRank.
However, due to the ever-changing search engine algorithms, it has become harder than ever to know what works and what doesn’t. There has been no “one size fits all” SEO or internet marketing strategy that actually works. There is a heated debate going online regarding the importance of Google PR. Many consider it to be important whereas others don’t consider it to be important for...

Yahoo and Google have rarely seemed to have a particularly friendly relationship, especially in regards to the ad business for their respective search engines. However, the two companies announced yesterday that Google would be providing relevant display ads for Yahoo sites worldwide. This agreement is not exclusive, and Google will not be the only company providing ads for Yahoo. The fact that it is one of them, though, is a major development in the relationship between the two companies.
Yahoo and Google created significant waves in the SEO community in the middle of 2012, when the two companies discussed forming a more close-knit advertising relationship. In fact, one possibility that was discussed was that of Google essentially handling all of Yahoo’s advertising duties for them. A deal this extensive never materialized, but the somewhat more scaled-back agreement the companies just announced indicates that the lines of communication are still open...

It was only a matter of time before the mobile marketplace started to dictate the terms of online ideology. Gone are the days when desktops and laptops where king and everything was tailored to those platforms first. On February 6, 2013 Google announced sweeping changes to its AdWords program designed to make it much easier for advertisers to target their campaigns to various search platforms.
The increasing prevalence of tablets and smartphones is resulting in more and more searches being conducted by individuals who are on the go. The number of people connecting to the Internet from a mobile device is starting to surpass the number connecting at home on a desktop or laptop. The statistics are there to prove it as well. Consider the following statistics as of 2012:
75% of emails opened, 60% of Facebook posts, and 90% of Tweets originate from mobile devices
75% of consumers prefer mobile-friendly sites
1 in 8 page views originate from mobile...

If there’s one thing that new bloggers struggle with when starting a blog, it’s gaining more readers. With millions of blogs on the web, how in the world can you get people to notice your existence? And more importantly, how do get them to actually come back?
If you’re asking yourself these same questions (and if you’re a blogger, then you probably are) take note of the pointers below. These are some tried and tested ways that have proven to increase readership and engagement in blogs. They’ll even include real website examples that you can visit and check out for yourself:
1. Provide real value – This is the most effective way to gain loyal readers that would spread the word about your site without any bribes or motivation other than the fact that you provide excellent stuff. And no, there’s really no way around this one.
Whatever your niche is, chance are there’s already a blog in the same space...

Google has announced via a major Google Groups post that it has significantly updated its approach to the reviews that appear on Local pages. In addition to ramping up its relevant spam detection algorithms, Google also provided a list of guidelines for entrepreneurs and SEO professionals to ensure that their businesses are not penalized on Google+ Local.
The most important of these guidelines, as far as Google is concerned, appeared to be a recommendation that business owners steer clear of SEO companies that promise positive reviews. The release stated, “Be wary of an SEO or reputation management service that promises to generate reviews for your business. We’ve seen companies make up fake glowing testimonies – and we’ll take them down.”
However, many of the other changes announced in the update could impact businesses that had no idea they were doing anything Google would not like. For example, according to the new guidelines, Google will...

The heart of any good online advertising is a solid understanding of the target market. It can be difficult early on to identify the target market and tailor future campaigns toward this group, but with the right tools it is becomes easier to identify who is interested in your site and who isn’t. Google is helping webmaster by enhancing the reporting metrics offered through its AdWords for video system.
What is AdWords?
AdWords is the flagship marketing and revenue source for Google. Webmasters can use Google’s AdWords service to gain advertising exposure for their website, services, and/or products. Google then places ads for relevant content within a site based upon the audience visiting the site or related products and services.
The service works on a pay-per-click basis and provides site owners with a revenue stream based upon the exposure of their site. Webmasters get the help of Google in enhancing the exposure of their site, while...

Don’t know the answer to a question, just “Google it!” Google has certainly made a name for themselves as one of the top ranking search engines in the modern world. Providing millions of people all over the globe with the ability to navigate the internet effectively to gather any tidbit of information one could possibly think of, Google has it all covered. But when you type in your keyword and hit “google search,” what guarantee do you really have that the websites you’re being directed to do indeed feature the latest and most accurate information? Well, that’s where Google Panda steps into the spotlight.
Google Panda, named after Google engineer Navneet Panda, was launched on February 24th of 2011. Using a type of artificial intelligence in algorithm form, Google Panda’s targeted purpose was to reconfigure the ranking of websites, boosting high quality and purposeful content sites up the list while demoting low quality ones....